Excimer-laser ablation and micro-patterning of ceramic Si 3 N 4 (original) (raw)

Surface texturing of Si, porous Si and TiO2 by laser ablation

Applied Surface Science, 2007

Excimer laser ablation at 308 nm has been used to texture the surfaces of a variety of materials of interest for optoelectronic and biotechnological applications. Using a range of pre-and post-processing methods, we are able to produce nano-, micro-and meso-scale features over large areas rapidly in materials such as crystalline Si, porous silicon and TiO 2 . Texturing of porous silicon leads to the growth of crystalline dendritic structures, which distinguishes them dramatically from the conical pillars formed from crystalline silicon. Regular arrays of Si microdots are formed by irradiating a Si surface pre-covered with a Cr thin film grating. Nano-crystalline porous TiO 2 films are easily ablated or compacted with laser irradiation. However, at low enough laser fluence, surface roughening without complete loss of porosity is possible. #

The influence of brightness during laser surface treatment of Si3N4 engineering ceramics

Optics and Lasers in Engineering, 2012

Publisher: Elsevier NOTICE: this is the author's version of a work that was accepted for publication in Optics and Lasers in Engineering. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Optics and Lasers in Engineering, [50], (2012)

Ti:sapphire Laser Ablation of Silicon in Different Ambients

Journal of Laser Micro/Nanoengineering, 2014

Titanium-sapphire laser ablation of silicon was investigated in atmospheric air, water and 20% KOH solution. The number of overlapping pulses was tuned between 3 and 1000 by changing the processing time. The ablated surfaces were investigated using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray microanalysis and stylus profilometry. In each ambient, plasma formation was observed during ablation. X-ray microanalysis indicated that the process starts with surface oxidation in case of air and water ambient. With increasing pulse number the surface was roughened, resulting in larger structures. Crater formation was observed in air and in water, with higher etching rate in the latter case. The depth profile of the ablation holes and grooves is rather different for this two ambient. Narrow conical grooves were observed in case of ablation in air, while flat bottom grooves were produced in water. Laser processing in KOH solution did not result in etching, only the native oxide layer was removed. Etching occurred in these areas, if the samples were left in KOH solution for a longer time. Based on these observations the material removal by fs laser pulses is attributed to evaporation and reactions of Si with radicals in the laser induced plasma, such as atomic or ionic oxygen. The application of KOH introduces K ions or atoms into the laser induced plasma, which may react faster with oxygen than with Si, thus resulting in decrease in etching rate during laser processing.

Periodic patterning of silicon by direct nanosecond laser interference ablation

Applied Surface Science, 2011

The production of periodic structures in silicon wafers by four-beam is presented. Because laser interference ablation is a single-step and cost-effective process, there is a great technological interest in the fabrication of these structures for their use as antireflection surfaces. Three different laser fluences are used to modify the silicon surface (0.8 J cm −2 , 1.3 J cm −2 , 2.0 J cm −2) creating bumps in the rim of the irradiated area. Laser induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS), in particular micro and nano-ripples, are also observed. Measurements of the reflectivity show a decrease in the reflectance for the samples processed with a laser fluence of 2.0 J cm −2 , probably caused by the appearance of the nano-ripples in the structured area, while bumps start to deteriorate.

Ablation of ceramics by UV, visible, and IR pulsed laser radiation

Laser Applications in Microelectronic and Optoelectronic Manufacturing II, 1997

Multiparametric study of A1N ceramic ablation by high intensity (I iO' W/cm2) nano and picosecond pulses of Nd:YAP laser have been performed. Ablation rates, surface morphology and element content, reflectivity and absorptivity of ceramic plates prior and after pulsed irradiation as well as high temperature material reflectivity have been measured. It is shown that high etch rate and good quality A1N ceramic microstructuring (cutting, hole drilling, pocket formation) can be obtained for the first, second and forth laser harmonics if irradiation conditions are properly chosen. It was found that possibility to effectively process material, which initially weakly absorbs laser beam (first and second harmonic), is determined by radiation and plasma induced surface modification. Comparison with other types of ceramics, such as A1203, Si3N4, SiC, is also made.

Characterization of microcraters fabricated on the silicon surface by single and multi-pulse laser ablation at various laser intensities

Nuclear Instruments & Methods in Physics Research Section B-beam Interactions With Materials and Atoms, 2021

Microcraters on the silicon surface were fabricated with the help of a nanosecond pulsed laser. The features of microcraters fabricated with single laser pulse and pulse trains of various laser intensities were analyzed. In case of single pulse, the diameter and depth of micro-crater rise with the laser fluence and achieve saturation at higher laser intensities. For the range of fluence 62-122 J/cm 2 , the mass of ablated material was in the range of 0.27 × 10 − 9-2.69 × 10 − 9 g/pulse. Numerically simulated temperature trends were compared with the measured crater depths. The influence of laser intensity on the target temperature and onset time to melt/boil were also investigated. In case of pulse trains, the reduction in material removal efficiency is attributed to the plume shielding and accumulation of ablated material on the crater walls. We demonstrated that the laser intensity and number of laser pulses can be used to control the morphology of a microcrater.

Surface morphology of SiO2 coated InP/InGaAs/InGaAsP microstructures following irradiation with the ArF and KrF excimer lasers

Laser Applications in Microelectronic and Optoelectronic Manufacturing (LAMOM) XVI, 2011

Successful fabrication of devices from quantum well-intermixed material requires efficient control of its surface morphology. To address this problem, we have employed atomic force microscopy to study surface morphology of InP/InGaAs/InGaAsP QW microstructure coated with d SiO2 = 50, 150, 190, 243 and 263 nm thick SiO 2 films. Both ArF (193 nm) and KrF (248 nm) excimer lasers have been used to irradiate series of samples with up to 400 pulses of fluence 76 to 156 mJ/cm 2 . The roughness ( RMS ) of SiO 2 layer after both lasers irradiation and RTA decreases as the pulse number increases. Following RTA, a smoother surface morphology was observed for all irradiated samples. The cap InP layer was found to have a relatively smaller roughness (~ 0.4 nm) due to the protection provided by the SiO 2 layer during excimer laser irradiation and high temperature RTA. For samples coated with 50-or 150-nm-thick SiO 2 and irradiated by the ArF laser, the blueshift is only obtained when the SiO 2 layer was ablated. However, the sample coated with 243-nmthick SiO 2 (d SiO2 KrF ), following the 75-pulse-irradiation with the KrF laser at 124mJ/cm 2 and RTA, showed a smooth surface ( RMS = 1.8 nm) and maximum blueshift of 74 nm achieved without removal of the SiO 2 layer.

Nanostructuring of Material Surfaces by Laser Ablation

Radiation Effects in Materials, 2016

Irradiation of materials such as iron and silicon with single nanosecond laser pulses produces nanostructures on its surfaces. Nevertheless, the deposition before irradiation of thin films on the surface of the silicon wafers can modify the shapes of these structures. Upon laser irradiation, different effects are produced on the surfaces of monocrystalline silicon wafers coated with a thin film of Si 3 N 4 than on that of bare ones. After irradiation with a Nd:YAG laser pulse of 532 nm, the coated silicon surface presents a nanostructure that, due to its hydrophobic behavior, can be used for biological applications such as cell growth. On the other hand, the nanostructures formed on the surface of metals, such as iron, make them more resistant to oxidation processes by changing their oxidation potentials.

Analysis of the formation and evolution of oriented microstructures on laser ablated silicon

Applied Physics A, 2008

A theoretical approach and qualitative analysis of the changes induced on the surface morphology and the formation of microstructures on silicon targets irradiated by excimer laser are presented. This study is based on theoretical principles of the laser ablation process, in particular, on the analysis of the contribution of the laser energy density, which involves the laser beam parameters and also the physical properties of the target material. For different laser incident angles, the formation of micro-columns oriented towards the laser incident direction is explained. Moreover, numerical simulations and ablation experiments carried out with an excimer laser corroborate the theoretical analysis.

Monitoring of the morphologic reconstruction of deposited ablation products in laser irradiation of silicon

Science of Sintering, 2008

Using electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray microanalysis, and IR spectroscopy, it was established that, in the regime of continuous laser irradiation of silicon at P = 170 W in different gaseous atmospheres with an oxygen impurity, SiO x composite films with a complex morphology form. The main components of ablation products are clusters that form during flight of ablation products and as a result of separation of SiO x -clusters from the zone of the irradiation channel. The roughness and density of the films depend on the heating temperature of the target surface and the type of deposited clusters.